I believe in one thing with all of my heart: passion. If I do not have passion for what I do I do not succeed. Just as importantly, I believe in happiness. This is what I strive for, first and foremost, in everything I do.

My intent with photography is to capture what stands out in my subjects as beauty. When I shoot my camera I expect everyone to see what I just saw, in my eye and in my mind’s eye. Each picture should have emotion. To combine motion, strength, glamour, and fashion into one picture is my goal.

I have always believed that beauty is internal: passion, character, and hard work. This all equates to natural beauty, something overlooked too much in a Photoshop-imbued world. I like to look at the world, the models, and the world we live in today and embrace everything currently technologically available that I can get my hands on in order to, ironically or not, create a timeless feel.

People often ask me, “Is it fun to shoot pretty girls?” and I always wince. Male, female, young, old; it is so much about capturing an expression, a breath of air, rather than just a pretty face. Working with people and having them open up to me and an open space that is both scary and exhilarating is why I shoot; it is why I am a photographer (and a director). It is that interaction that makes it fun. It is that hour of makeup and first look where I am more interested in getting to know you so I can capture that moment, on that day, of who you are, that excites me. It is challenging and invigorating.

I find the interaction and the interplay to be very fulfilling for both myself and for the model. It’s a two-way street. I love feedback and input. I think photography is a very interactive environment.

My passion is to combine glamour and fashion with the strength and movement of dance in my work. I find the dance world to be invigorating; a refreshing way to push the human body to its limit, and in doing so, demonstrate the real life use, the story line, and the imaginative engagement of the perfect clothing line.

For me, the juxtaposition of the absolutely magical beauty of a ballerina’s form and technique with style and fashion and trends produces a beautiful result that caters to a broader and potentially deeper audience.

As mass media begins to shift from skinny to strength, which I think is a wonderful shift, I want to be on the front lines when the combination of the most elegant dress makes it’s way down the runway but with the combined perfected leap of a ballerina.

As summarized by Dani Chase of Moment:

What Tristan is doing now not only makes him feel better about his work, but it also helps his photo subjects. This is a win-win, he thought. He can shoot something meaningful. And because the shoots are shorter and less intensive, he can provide people with a low-cost gallery of high-quality portfolio images. What Tristan is able to accomplish in just 4 hours is enough to fill out a portfolio and even provide extra content for social media.

The merits of mobile photography don’t stop there, either. It’s also hard for dancers to find the right photographer. That’s because it’s vital that the photographer really understands dance. For instance, if the photographer were to capture and post the wrong frame of a jump, and one of the limbs was not yet fully extended… That dancer’s career might suffer. These are high stakes.

But thankfully, Tristan actually has a background in dance and a love of collaboration. With mobile photography, cooperation between photographer and model becomes more of a partnership. Tristan frequently pulls dancers to his side of the camera, showing them the frame he has planned. This allows the dancer to perfectly understand where they need to position their bodies.